Houston to have Mahatma Gandhi district

Washington, Jan 27: On the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi's 141st birth year, southern part of Houston will now have a district named after him.

Hillcroft, an ethnic conclave, comprising largely of South Asians, including Indians has been officially renamed as Mahatma Gandhi district on Jan 2010.

The announcement was made by City Mayor Annise Parker along with Consul General of India in Houston, Sanjiv Arora.

The renaming of the area which is also known as 'mini India' came after the relentless effort of India Culture Centre who have working for it for the last seven years.

“Persistence alone paid off in the end as it was just getting nowhere, till the culture center and business leaders settled for adding the signs designating it a district, a USD 10,000 expense," ICC Spokesperson Manisha Mehta said.

According to the municipal law, renaming Hillcroft area required a petition citing support from 75 per cent of commercial property owners on a street. Following which the City Council can consider the change of the name.

Earlier, Indians fell short of the target, as it was difficult to gather support from the non-South Asian.

The Indian businessmen made the proposal to rename Hillcroft Avenue to Mahatma Gandhi Avenue during the time of former Mayor Bill White as the ICC.

Elated Indians said that the decision will bring a sense of recognition, adding that renaming the area would hopely attract more tourists.

“We have so many Asian businesses in this area, it"s a feeling of recognition," said a local Indian business owner, Usha, owner of a prominent gold jewellery business shop.